Issue 91 - spy

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spy

We bring you the news, show and reviews amd Dave's look at the whisky world

Made it at Bushmills
It is surely a dream of every serious whiskey drinker to spend some time learning how your favourite tipple is made, matured and blended with expert knowledge, care and attention before being bottle, sold and poured into your glass.

Where better to learn these skills then under the guidance of master distiller, Colum Egan at Bushmills Distillery on the Northern Irish coastline, where a licence to distil was first granted way back in 1608.

Like a modern day Willy Wonka, Colum offered this oncein- lifetime chance for one lucky winner to spend 30 days working alongside him, learning the tricks of triple distillation, as well as becoming the first person ever from outside the distillery to create their own blend of Bushmills.

On top of this the winner would receive £5,000 in spending money and luxury accommodation in Ireland for their stay.

The competition launched on St Patrick's Day 2010 at The York Stock Exchange around 1,000 entrants worked to compete for a place as a finalist through local initiatives to garner as many votes as possible in their specific region via facebook.

The finalists gathered at Bushmills Distillery for the Bushcamp, two days of mental, physical and skill based challenges, from a huge climbing wall erected in the shadow of maturing casks, to coopering and of course, whiskey tasting.

The nine strong international team was made up of diverse characters with a broad skill set and included a head sommelier from a French thr...